U.S. government gets greener

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department said it made $5 million in funding available to help federal agencies meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent.

"As the nation's largest single user of energy, the federal government is leading by example," the department said in a statement Monday.

The funding for nine federal programs is aimed at meeting a goal of improving energy efficiency by 30 percent by next year, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent and getting 20 percent of their energy from renewable energy resources by 2020.

The mandates were spelled out in a 2013 declaration from President Barack Obama.

Specifically, the department's funding will help advance the development of combined heat and power and renewable energy technologies at programs ranging from a 1.6-megawatt rooftop solar installation at the Air National Guard base in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., to a 13.7 MW combined heat and power system at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"These projects will reduce carbon emissions, while strengthening America's economic, energy, and environmental security," the Energy Department said.